Suspect Shows Up at Hotel to Allegedly Meet Two Preteen Girls, Finds a Fatal Hail of Gunfire Instead
An alleged sexual predator in suburban Seattle was killed by police last week after he engaged officers with a firearm during what he thought was going to be a meetup with two small children, police said.
Video of the deadly officer-involved shooting was released by the Seattle Police Department over the weekend, and it showed how quickly some situations with armed criminals can escalate.
According to KOMO-TV, the incident occurred Wednesday shortly before 3:15 p.m. when a 67-year-old man showed up at the DoubleTree Suites hotel in the community of Tukwila — just miles south of downtown Seattle.
The man thought he had been conversing online with two little girls ages 7 and 11, but he had actually been communicating with officers from the Washington State Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
A police body camera captured the harrowing moment for the officers who confronted the suspect in the hotel hallway.
As officers opened a door to arrest the man, the situation quickly escalated.
WARNING: The following video is graphic and viewer discretion is advised.
Warning Graphic Video: 4/17/24 Seattle PD unveils body cam footage from a tense hotel sting operation. A 67-year-old man’s shocking attempt to meet 7 and 11-year-old girls ends in a tragic confrontation 💥 https://t.co/3IJ9qbrEGg
— SEATTLESUBMISSIONS (@SEATTLESUBMISS) April 20, 2024
“Hey, Officer Thomas, Seattle Police …,” one officer said before the suspect reached for a firearm from his jacket and one initial shot rang out.
The images shared by police were blurred out, but the video shows responding officers had to use overwhelming force to protect themselves.
Three shots in total were fired before the officers created a safe space between them and the suspect in order to neutralize him as a threat.
The suspect fell to the ground, and he was struck by a volley of rounds fired by two officers.
The man died at the scene, and the Seattle Police Department quickly notified the public on social media.
At 3:14 p.m., SPD Officers were conducting an Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce operation when an Ofc involved shooting occurred. An Ofc suffered a minor injury, the suspect was deceased at the scene. The Force Investigation Team is investigating per protocol.
— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) April 18, 2024
One officer who was present was “grazed by a bullet on their leg,” Seattle police said when the body camera footage was released on Saturday, KOMO-TV reported.
Less than three seconds passed between the time the man was confronted to the time the first shot was fired.
Seattle Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Barden said at a news conference that while most arrests his agency conducts are peaceful, unfortunately, there are exceptions.
“We never know when people are going to produce a firearm when we arrest them,” Barden said.
Barden said that the three officers seen in the video were the only ones at the scene and that the officer who was wounded was “doing fine.”
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